


spectrum

by airlieofjune (kafziel)



Series: it takes two to run a science lab [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Background Relationships, F/M, Hanahaki Disease, Meet-Cute, Modern AU, Modern AU - No Pokemon, Neighbour Tropes, Not Beta Read, Slow Burn, Tropes, at least im trying to write that, but ACTUALLY netflix and chilling, colress get off your phone, colress is best science nerd, dear god im a minor i cant write that, ghetsis doesn't appear in this, i hate ghetsis, im bad at tagging help, like lvl 1 ember, like so slow its less powerful than an ember, not any of the explicit stuff, thank god, theyre netflix and chilling, this is slow burn, yet atleast
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-09 18:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19481653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kafziel/pseuds/airlieofjune
Summary: He was just the science nerd next door,Mei convinced herself.Then who were these bloody flowers coming out of her throat for?she questioned.Naturally, the fool had to show up at her DOOR to ask to study them. All she could do was nod and try to get words from her vine-ensconced throat.





	spectrum

**Author's Note:**

> hi and welcome to another of my pokemon fics! i'm really excited about this one and i've been thinking about it for AGES. This is a MODERN au with NO POKEMON (how will n survive amirite???) with what i think is the most UNDERRATED fanfic trope, Hanahaki disease. If you don't know it, it's where, let's say, person A is infatuated with person B, who doesn't return their love. Person A will start choking up flowers, getting redder and more bloodstained, until they admit their feelings to person B (and person B returns the feelings), they die, or get the flowers removed surgically (removing all memories of person B.)
> 
> enjoy! <33

It was morning, and Mei was certain the thump of cardboard against carpet was loud enough to be heard through the thin walls of her new apartment. Oh well, she thought. At least that was the last one.

Reaching into the boxes, her tired arms scratching the ragged sides of the boxes, leaving angry red marks, she pulled out a few cushions and tossed them in the general direction of the couch, not caring if they landed on it or not. One cushion, adorned with beads and little knick-knacks (a housewarming gift from Touko) hit one of her metal chairs and made an awful clanging noise on impact. Mei grimaced. Her poor neighbour. 

As if they’d been summoned by her (considerably loud) noise output, Mei heard footsteps shuffling against carpet (gods, were the walls _THAT_ thin?) and a quiet knock against her door. Or theirs. She couldn’t tell, as the walls were so thin she could practically hear the running of a sink next door.  
Mei opened the door.

Oh dear, she thought. Greeting her was a tall scientist in a lab-coat, his pretty golden eyes shining brightly through glasses. His blond hair seemed to glisten in the morning light (that’s right, it was 5am, right?) and a strange streak of blue circled his head.  
He held up his phone awkwardly. ‘My phone has detected that your noise output is higher than the average recommended for humans at 5am.’ His head tilted to the side and an amused smile graced his lips.

 _Oh, this is so not fair,_ Mei thought. Instead she opened her door wider, and gestured to the crazy mess of boxes and pillows and what-not that she had yet to investigate. ‘As you can see, I just arrived. Sorry for waking you up.’ Her mouth curled into a grimace. _Why now, at 5am, of all times?_

‘Oh, it’s fine; I was already awake,’ he dismissed casually with a wave of his hand. ‘Would you like some help?’  
Mei stood there, gaping. _Help with what?_ she thought, then she realised he meant with moving.  
‘Of course!’ she exclaimed, the cheer a little too forced to sound genuine. His eyes glittered with mirth.  
‘By the way, my name is Colress,’ he said smoothly, while awkwardly shifting his phone under his arm to extend his hand for a handshake, Mei shakily accepting it. 

‘I see why everything made so much noise,’ grunted Colress, while shifting something (presumably a chair or something? Mei couldn’t tell).  
Dusting her hands on her shirt, she sighed. It was 7am. ‘I think it’s time for a break. Would you like coffee?’  
Colress simply smiled as he sat down on the couch. ‘You couch is much more plush than mine,’ he simply remarked, as a way of agreeing. Mei busied herself in the kitchen, not wanting to get enraptured in his face.  
In the kitchen, Mei’s phone lit up. ‘Hello?’ she answered, lifting her phone up to her ear.  
Touko’s cheery voice assaulted her from her phone’s tinny speakers. ‘MEI MEI MEI OK SO-‘  
Mei winced. _Colress would try and complain about the noise here too, disguising it as scientific gibberish,_ she thought, then internally chastised herself for thinking of him once again.  
‘Oh shit, sorry, I mean crap, I mean sorry for temporarily deafening you-‘ Mei awkwardly chuckled when Colress turned his head, searching for the source of all the noise (once again, Mei thought guiltily.) Mei made some half-baked attempt to point at her phone without looking awkward. It didn’t work, but once again Colress’ eyes shone with mirth and he turned his head to focus on his phone.  
‘So I know who your neighbour is, and he’s definitely your type, you know, the science nerd type, best of all, he’s not a serial killer or anything!’ Again, Mei winced. Touko needed to work on her timing, among other things.  
‘Touko,’ she hissed, ‘he’s in the apartment, helping me move my stuff!’  
‘Even better!’ Touko chirruped. ‘You can-‘  
Mei, wisely hung up before Touko could give her neighbour verbal scarring.  
‘Sorry about that,’ Mei said. ‘I’ll get your coffee.’ Colress once again turned those lovely golden orbs on her, and she mentally gulped and turned around to make the coffee, almost spilling scalding hot water on her hand. _Get a grip, Mei!_  
She set the coffee on the table next to Colress. ‘Do you mind if I…’ He trailed off, gesturing to the recliner. Mei tilted her head in question, then let out a loud bark of surprise when the recliner suddenly shot out, nearly spilling her coffee on herself (again!). Colress only chuckled, taking her startled exclamation as acceptance.  
Mei settlen into the seat next to him. The TV was set up, and she opened Netflix. Colress choked on his coffee when he saw the Netflix profiles (Touko, Parasite 1 aka Mei, Parasite 2 aka Touya). Mei shrugged. ‘It’s true,’ she said by way of replying.  
After a few episodes, Colress turned to Mei. ‘Hey, can I get your phone number? Just in case of emergencies.’ Mei pretended not to be downcast at this last statement, _wow Mei, an infatuation already?_  
Yet she nodded and proceeded to enter her phone number into Colress’ phone. As she handed back his phone to him, their hands brushed and a jolt of static anergy shocked them. ‘Oh dear,’ Colress laughed. ‘Instead of having a, what do the fanfic writers call it, a spark of energy, we get shocked by static energy.’ Mei, startled by his sudden sense of humour, rolled over, howling with laughter.  
‘There was a physical spark!’ she howled. Pure, stomach-aching, rib-expanding laughter. She turned to Colress and was pleasantly surprised by the casual smile that lit up his face.  
Mei cleared her throat. ‘I’m sorry about my cousin back there, she’s really, uh…’ she trailed off. Colress smirked. ‘I’ll pretend to not have heard that for your benefit.’

_Two hours later_  
Colress had long since left, and she was stuck in the bathroom, scowling at herself, trying to remove the image of his smug smirk, or his smile that lit up his gorgeous eyes. Mei started to cross her arms but was interrupted with a hacking cough. Her hacking cough. Turning, Mei dismissed it and set about setting up the rest of her furniture, unaware of what was now growing in her throat, or what was growing in her heart. 

Through a thin wall, Colress’ phone lit up. Sound recognised, it said flatly. Hanahaki disease confirmed.  
Colress sighed. _Whoever the whelp is, they’re lucky. Wish it was me, but we can't always get what we want._ Colress forced a smile onto his face and began to set up tests. _I should ask her for samples of the flowers, maybe run some tests on them when they appear. I could find another cure._ He sighed once more. _If she lets me._


End file.
